ELECTRIC R/C SAILPLANE CATALOG

KITS

All the Sky Bench kits can be converted with an electric motor for
launching. Some of the kits have specific parts for motor mounting,
others are conversions by the builder.

If you mark the order form or make a note on your facsimile order that
you are installing an electric motor, the kit will contain triangle
wood stock to be used in shaping the fuse nose section round to
conform the the motor/prop spinner shape.
Also, the front fuse sides will be balsa instead of plywood to
save weight in the OLY and Bird Series kits.
... See the
2M E Lil Bird parts photo
for reference.

Due to the light weight motor and battery, most of the kits will
balance with the battery located behind the motor and the motor
controller, servos and Rx behind the battery. The motor can be mounted
outside of the fuse, this will allow the best cooling to the motor and
easiest conversion. Remember to make provisions for cooling the motor
controller and battery. The 3014 airfoil is an excellent all weather
airfoil for electric powered Sailplanes.

A word of caution. Check the prop for cracking at the base of the
blades before each flight. I have received reports from customers of
a prop blade flying off at launching.

Hacker A10-13L outrunner may be a good motor choice.
20 grams, 3/4" diameter, and 75W.

2ME LIL BIRD

Ray in action with his 2ME Lil Bird

Do you know how important low wing loading is to electric powered thermal sailplane's
flight performance? Have you been turned
off by the low performance junk on the market, I guarantee you will be thrilled with my
electric 2M Lil Bird. I love flying this
bird.

You can fly it in very small areas, due to the low wing loading, landing approaches can
be very short and slow. My designs are
known for lack of tip stall, so it is very stable on a very slow, nose high, landing.
This means added durability and relaxed
landings.

As with all of my designs,
this is not a high production, cheap, but over priced,
fragile (make the CEO money) kit. It is very
durable and will last a new pilot a long time. The 1/64" plywood fuse doublers in the
kit are far superior in strength than a
balsa wood doubler. Photos of parts and construction can be viewed by clicking on
ASSEMBLY TIPS, it is a simple model to build.

Pictured above are the parts that make the 2mE Lil Bird a great electric
version. Notice the plywood motor mount has three tabs to
correspond with the two slots in the fuse sides and doublers as well as the slot
in the fuse plywood bottom. This three point
mounting system will ensure a very strong motor mounting that will survive hard
landings. The four triangular pieces are used to
allow the fuse sides to fair into the prop spinner. The bottom battery hatch
includes the stop rails and mounting pieces and
hardware. Please notice the plywood doubler has holes
receive the wing mounting pegs, but the fuse sides do not. This allows the
builder to build the 2M Lil Bird with a bolt on wing rather than a rubber
band hold down and not have the holes in the fuse sides to contend with. The
bolt on wing is highly recommended for the electric 2ME Lil Bird and only
one nylon bolt is necessary.

All the wing Laser Cut plywood spar braces included in the kit can be
installed when hard launching, zoom launching or aerobatics are
performed.

If you are installing an electric motor, only the plywood spar braces
shown on the construction plan need to be used to have an adequately
strong wing. Eliminating the other center dihedral plywood spar braces
will save weight and building time. The wing will still be very strong
regardless if you build a one or two piece wing.

Installing electric motors in Sky Bench Woody kits has become very
popular due to the availability of current light weight motors and
Li-Po batteries. A good place to start the motor thrust line setting
is 2 degrees down and zero off set. The amount of thrust ( watts )
your motor, prop size/pitch and battery produce, plus your flying
style preferences will determine the final thrust line settings.

Sky Bench has sold hundreds of 2M Lil Birds, everyone has been
delighted with the flight performance.

The Big Bird converted to electric is a very good flyer.
With some thermal
activity and it will easily fly for an hour or more. The airfoil provides a
very flat glide and will thermal out on light lift. The Big Bird kit is
fully laser cut, fuse formers and sides have tab/slot engineering for easy
assembly. Plans are drawn in CAD and include the electric installation. This
is a very high quality kit and includes an Astro Flight 608G motor
installation drawing by Jack Hamilton for LMR events.

My Bird Series, Lil Bird 2, 2m Lil Bird and Big Bird all
convert to electric power and the flight performance will amaze you. The
Bird Series designs use the S 3014 airfoil for excellent float and
penetration and does not have tip stall tendencies. We build them without
washout and the result is full utilization of the wings potential
performance.

For kit and specs information please go to the Bird Series page.
Builder Conversion to Electric NOTICE

If you want to install electric into a Sky Bird, the rear wing rod and associated brass tubes can be eliminated during construction and will be a good weight saver. A single wing rod instead of two rods, placed in the front spar will be very adequate...

A Sky Bird kit with only the single wing rod
and related brass tubing is priced $10.00 less

Here's a few pictures of how my Windlord kit came out. I used a
35-42-1000kv outrunner, 2200mah lipo, 11 x 8 folding prop and put
servos in the wing for the elevators and air brake. The front cowling
is similar to the Sagitta series gliders (I'm a woody) and the rear
access hatch has a ply tongue with a magnet on the back. The hatch
handle is part of the dorsal fin. Flew it today for the first time
and was totally amazed at how stable it was. The only change I made
was to put in more down elevator during the motor run to keep it under
control. Thanks for a great kit.

April 6th, 2012, Richard maidens his electric powered Merlyn.
Pictured are his beautiful Merlyn and OLY lll, both are E-powered. I
drove over to Ohio to record the event on a movie, Don Harris hand
launched the first flight and and we all had a hold your breath
moment. Almost immediately after Don released the Merlyn, Richard
inadvertently opened the spoilers. What a showman ... :-) :-) :-) !
We all had a turn on the sticks, it preformed beautifully.

Bob Barger has been flying
Merlyn's for years. This one is launched by an electric motor.

OSPREY

Love my electric OLY 3

Hi Ray, I have just test flown my new Oly 3 that I built these past
few months. Attached are a couple of photos of its first flight. Thank
you for assembling and selling such a good kit. The build was very
satisfying and the quality was excellent.

I electrified the plane, using a NeuMotor 1110/2Y motor with a 4.4:1
gearbox and a 15X10 Cam carbon folding prop. It has a Phoenix 50 Ice
Lite speed controller with a separate 5 amp BEC and uses a Thunder
Power 3-cell, 45C, 2700 mAh Lipo battery. Flaps were used instead of
spoilers to provide the option of camber change as well as landing
control. Mixing a little down elevator with the infinitely variable
flaps (on the throttle stick of an Airtronics SD-10G radio) has worked
very well. Total flying weight came in at 75 oz. and the motor is
drawing 376 watts, resulting in 80 watts/pound. At just over half
throttle the plane climbs very briskly and at a very steep angle….it
definitely does not need any additional power. On its maiden flight I
took it to about 300 feet and killed the power…….15 minutes later it
had no intention of coming down and was coaxed down with flaps. There
is a cooling air inlet through the turbo spinner into the fuselage,
but no intentional air exit holes, yet the speed control is running at
125 degree F., well below the temp. max. for the electronics. This
plane is a dream to fly and I am now planning my next SkyBench build.

OLY III, more fun by the pair

Ray,

Just had to let you know how much we love this plane! Larry and I put
the Olys up on Sunday and this plane just floats forever! We have Ammo
28-45-2100 brushless motors with 4.3-1 planetaries with 16-10 folders
on them. Only took about a 20 sec. climb to get to 500ft. and mother
nature provided the rest of the lift. After a 30 min. and 45
min. flight we decided that this is the best glider we have ever
built/flown. We only used the power on initial climbout, the rest of
the flight was thermal/slope off the top of hill at our field here in
southeast Ohio. You will probably get another order for a kit from
some of the onlookers that watched in ahhhhhh as these birds
flew. Thank you for a great plane.
Frank Groza
Larry Townsend

.... Ron Bloch joins in the fun with his flying buddies ....

Ray,

Just a little note to say I LOVE THIS THING!! The Oly III is one of
the best birds I have flown. I fly with Frank and Larry and after
seeing theirs I had to build one with the electric setup. We put a
little more down thrust in the motor 8 deg. to see if that would help
on clime out, but still took 1/2 down at full throttle. This thing just
wants to climb.
Landing with the flaps and spoiler was spot on.
Thanks for making This GREAT KIT!!
Ron

Ed Abner and his Oly III

Ed Aber launching his Oly lll. Installing electric motors
has become very popular amount Woody Builders.

Tom Tock and his beautiful converted OLY III

Terry Traver's Electric OLY II S

OLY ll S Electric Power Conversion

Ray
It flies like a dream. NO TRIM CHANGE OR BALANCE CHANGE.
I'm just about as happy as an RC flier can be.
Amazing sailplane!!

Converting the OLY11-S to electric takes little modification. I chose
the E-flite 15 motor paired with the matching 30 to 40 amp
controller. This motor is the outrunner style. For weight purposes and
long, powerful runs I used a Thunder Tiger 3 cell 1100 li-poly
battery. To finish the package a 1 3/4 inch spinner was installed on
the shaft with a12x5.5 folding propeller.

The fuse was built stock as per plans with the exception of leaving
out the nose block and the tow hook block. Also there were four 1/2 by
1 inch slotted holes cut into this area to provide for cooling. For
the motor mount I measured the inside of the fuse and cut a piece of
3/16 aircraft ply [not light ply] to fit. Using the supplied motor
mount I traced the vent and bolt holes into it and drilled them
out. Using the motor mount and screws supplied with the E-flite motor
I then mounted the motor using loctite as you will not be able to get
back in there later to retighten them later.

This assembly is then slid into the fuse and epoxied in place. In
order to get as much right and down thrust I used scrap 1/16 balsa as
shims and let the motor rest on them as the epoxy set. To finish the
fuse slices of the nose block were used to fill in on the sides and
top and were then sanded to blend in to the spinner. I left the
bottom open for ventilation. As this was my first E sailplane I was
pleased with the outcome and learned a lot.

As for the radio installation, place the servos, receiver, battery,
and switch into fuse and adjust fore and aft until the balance is
where you prefer and then rigid mount everything. I used two pieces of
1/4 square hard balsa stock to capture the battery, one at the rear
and one loosely set over the top. With the battery leads ran through
the former it stays there and hasn't shifted yet.

Flying Report

WOW! This combination is powerful. I can climb out at 60 degrees
right out of site several times. This combo has to be at the upper end
of the scale. This OLY2S E version has GUTS. Control is quite crisp
and the sink rate is only slightly higher than the glider
version. Slowing down for landings is done quite well with the
application of the spoiler and elevator with no tendencies to snap or
fall off. Slow speed control was never compromised and felt solid
right to touchdown. I would recommend that the fuse bottom have some
sort of added skid added to protect the fuse bottom as well as the
spinner and blades.

I highly suggest you build your own version. It has been great at
lunch time to get in a couple of flights. My fellow club members have
enjoyed it and I expect to see a couple more around soon. Sky Bench
planes have always been top notch in quality and value and with this
simple conversion now you can have an excellent E powered glider that
will not let you down. Bob Legue

Attached are two pictures. One of Max and I with his and my Oly IIS’S
and one of him handing over my completed Oly IIS. If these photos are
good enough feel free to use them. If not I can shoot more. Max and I
thank you for providing such a outstanding kit with great wood.

Thanks again,
Max Mills and John Renker

Foot note by Ray Hayes

John & Max
Thanks for the photos John, as I have said before,
since your no longer able to build models, "you must be one of the
luckiest modelers in the world to have a supreme builder like Max
Mills put your sailplanes together". I'm honored to have you both as
customers. Ray

For a few of months I've been self teaching myself to fly RC sailplanes so electric makes more sense for my style.
The OlyIIS flies the best of all I have in the hanger. Stays up better and penetrates better too. The kit was top notch
and a pleasure to build. I added spoilers in the wings and managed to keep the weight with in 3oz of your pure glider
Oly. Very happy with it, fly it two or more times a week most weeks, and wanted to say Thanks. I've attached an
image of me and the Oly at Mountain View Park today. Oh ya, when folks walk by and look they go past the foamies
and ask about my Oly....it's pretty.

The motor is really light (32gm) and battery needs to be well forward
for best flying CG. Obviously keeping the nose as long as possible
helps here, I added no ballast. I build in 5-6degrees of down-thust
and 2-3 degrees right but thats not critical as a little mixing on the
TX gives me a good straight climb-out. Its a reasonably tight fit but
with these small electronics I didn't have to widen the fuse,
modifications from plan were minimal.

The glider weighs in at 327gm ( 11.5 oz ) including battery. A bit
heavier than the intended HLG weight but flies beautifully none the
less. The motor draws a mere 7amps at full power and I can get 4-5 to
powered climb-outs to 150-200metres which is plenty, obviously with
just 500mah in the tank you need to manage power use. Having got rid
of a small warp in the wing and adjusted the CG to my liking it will
signal small amounts of lift easily and stays aloft very well. Very
easy to fly tho smaller gliders can be a little twitchy compared to a
2.5metre ship. I love flying this little glider, definitely a keeper.

Chris

Lil bird 2, Electrified, stretched and flapped

by Bob Egan

Ray,

Here's some pictures of the first attempt of adding flaps.
It works, but it's a lot of work and may be more complicated
than necessary. Looks like the completed wing with servos and
joiner rod would be a little over one ounce heavier than the one
I sent to you.

When we were talking about adding flaps you mentioned hinging the flaps
on the bottom. That may work better if we don't need to reflex
to flaps up and don't mind the look on the on the wing top side.

Bob

Electric Sun Bird

Sun
Bird Electric By Michael Morgan

First off I would like to thank Ray for
his commitment to producing very high quality laser cut kits and Dave
Thornburg for his great design. I was in search of a plane to build
for a Speed 400, 7 cell, last plane down event. The Sun Birds
classic elliptical style wing and T-Tail design attracted me to this
aircraft. I ordered two kits from Ray and was quite surprised to see
them at my doorstep the next day. After an evening of carefully going
over the plans and re-designing the nose section to fit a
conventional Speed 400 motor and gearbox, the plane was assembled and
covered in approx. 30 hours.

The power system for the Sunbird
was designed to give a near vertical climb. The original setup was a
6 volt Graupner Speed 400, Maxon 4.4:1 planetary gearbox (see picture
below), 10-6 Graupner folding prop and a 7 cell 500 ma battery. Using
the Astroflight Watt meter, the current draw showed about 9 amps. On
the first flight it was very clear that this was going to be the
plane to beat, but the plane needed more prop or RPM to increase the
rate of climb.

We switched over to a 5.2 volt Rocket motor and an 11-6 Graupner
folding prop and we almost doubled the rate of climb. We finally
achieved about a 45-degree climb drawing about 11 amps. This should
give the plane about 6 thirty-second climbs of about 200 feet.

The
fuselage with a re-designed nose section was the only area that
changed from Rays original design. The T-Tail was made
removable, the wing mounting was changed to an internal style mount,
and carbon fiber was added to the inside of the fuse at the tail
section for extra strength, Basswood was added in critical areas of
the fuse, including a battery hatch on the bottom of the fuselage to
increase strength.

A
modified fuse former was placed at the wings leading edge to hold the
3/16 dowel that was located in the leading edge of the wing.

A
hatch was created on bottom of fuse to access the 7-cell battery.
The hatch and wing are held in place with steel threaded pin that
screws into a blind nut located in the trailing edge of the wing. It
also serves as a landing skeg/pin for those pinpoint landings.

The T-Tail was made to be
detachable by a 2-56 screw and plywood clamp for easy transportation.
A hardwood 3/32x1/4 leading and trailing edge was added for
strength.

The wing was built to plans only
adding 1/16 plywood doublers at the external dihedral joints. The
wing was sprayed with a light coat of Kraylon paint and then covered
with Mylar film from Model Research Labs

Overall this kit was
very easy to assemble and the flying quality is excellent.

Foot
note by Ray Hayes

Sky Bench Aerotech is indebted to Mike
Morgan for this great report on converting a hand launch Sun Bird kit
to electric power. Mike is the first to convert a Sun Bird and joins
Bob Steele, the first to convert our Lil Bird 2, which is also a
great electric flyer, to Speed 400.

It is obvious, the guys with building
skills are getting the most enjoyment from their model aviation
hobby.

The mods were made centered on getting the Graupner prop
spinner to align with the fuselage. This widening was done by
splicing a 3/8 by 1/8 ply strip into former 1 and creating a
former for engine mounting at the same width as the new F1. A
3/8 inch block of balsa was added to the belly to provide
fairing to the spinner. A new servo tray was fitted to the
widened fuse. Very little to modify as the fuse aft of F2 is
unchanged. 1 degree of downthrust relative to the stab

The worst part is the gearbox I chose takes up almost the same
space as the spinner diameter. It is a regular old "offset" box
(MJ8005 HobLob) This made for a paper thin fuse right at the
spinner. This needed to be fiberglassed for strength. Since I
was glassing here, I decided to use 3/4 oz glass on the fuse
and fin. To keep the weight low it was attatched by spraying 2
medium coats of laquer on the fuse and fin. The glass cloth was
misted with laquer and attatched with laquer thinner. Goes on
as easy as wet silkspan! Filled the glass with 2 coats of
polycrylic, 1 coat of auto primer and 1 coat of Krylon white.

The motor-box-prop can draw 5 amps which really pushes the
health of the LiPo celles, so I climb at 75% throttle. One
minute to hi-statr altitude. I get 15 climbs off this set-up.

Let me know when you get someting on the Legionaire Shuttle as
I already have some prelim stuff for wing mounted landing gear
and power train.

In this Age of ARF's, it was well worth it to build the 2 M E Bird. It flys,
SOARS fantastic.
I installed a Speed Gear 480 Race swinging a 10/8 folder.

Thanks for a great Soaring Bird, all my friends say I have a winner.

Roland Herzig

Ray,

I just finished putting E power in my 2m Lil Bird, and flew it
today. I put in a 375 watt Tower Rimfire with an 11 X 6 prop. It
climbs to 200 meters in 20 seconds, great little flyer. It only
weighs 34 ounces with all the gear and a 1300 mah Thunderpower 65C 3
cell Lipo. I had taped up the spoilers, but activated them today
again. Next is E power for my flapped Skybird. I read the LOFT site
all the time.

Bill

Conrad Cooke's E powered 2m Lil'Bird

Charly Bobines 2m Lil'Bird E under the hatch.

Charly Bobines 2m Lil'Bird E under the hatch #1.

Charly Bobines 2m Lil'Bird E.

Hi Ray, Thought you might like to see a picture of my (finally)
finished 'Lil Bird 2M E. Had maiden flight this evening, and it was
totally successful. All I need to do is maybe put some expo on the
very effective elevator, and add a bit more downthrust. Flies very
well; just floats beautifully. Lands pretty hot. If I were to do it
again, I think I might add small spoilers.

I used an Eflight Park 450 brushless outrunner, an Eflight 30 Amp Pro
BL esc, a Graupner CAM folder with 12x6 blades, and a Thunder Power
Pro Lite V2 3S Lipo pack. I mounted the motor on a slide-in plywood
mount, which makes it much easier to remove to change blades, etc.
Couldn't really get a good grip on motor when tightening prop nut
while in the plane. And, getting to the lower mounting screws would
be very difficult with motor in the plane. Works for me! It fits
very snuggly, so no slop.

Thank you for a very nice design and an excellent kit!

Dan Juhlin
Seattle, WA

Flight Report

Hi Ray,

Wanted to give you an update regarding my 'Lil Bird 2M E. Took it to
a proper thermal field today so I could really try it out. Conditions
were very good, just a light breeze at times (probably thermals
blowing through). I have built and flown a number of sailplanes, with
this being my first electric one, and I have to say, this plane flies
as good or better than any I have had! What a joy to fly, so
sensitive to the slightest lift, turns tight enough to core the
tiniest bubble. When I am flying it I almost forget it has a motor!
I flew for 45 minutes on the first flight using a total of just over
one minute of motor-run time! Could have stayed up much longer on the
pack, but my neck was getting sore. Subsequent flights were similar,
even after the thermals had died off and the air got very flat and
still.

Won't be doing any DSing with it, but you drop the nose and build up a
bit of speed and she'll make a nice quick fly-by! And all the loops,
inside and outside, inverted, and even a big kinda sloppy barrel roll.

Thanks again for a fine design!
Dan

From Bob in Seattle: Ray, I can't tell you how much I love flying this plane. I'm just making sure that I have a spare on the shelf in case of an accident.

Thanks for the order Bob, I love flying my 2M Lil Bird too.

Bill Grenoble placed 3rd in the 2012 CAMS-Polecat-Soaring Circuits
contest flying his Big Birds. Congratulations Bill, you were the top
scoring WOODY.

It is a wonderful feeling to do well in today's contests that are
dominated by store bought, $2000.00 PLUS imports, with a WOODY built
and flown with your own hands. Woodys Forever.

From Bill Grenoble:

I fly two 100" Skybench Big Birds for ALES, one with flaps, one with
spoilers. They are equipped the same. Rimfire 15 motors (Tower),
Castle 50 esc, 1350 TP 4 cell 65C batteries, 11 X 8 props They will
climb to 200 meters in 22 seconds if I want to, and I get 5
climbs/flights to 200 meters in a contest. I only turn on the
flaps/spoilers when coming down to land.
Weight-- spoilers: 51 oz, flaps: 54 ounces.
Bill Grenoble

Electric Big Bird XL

The wing is extended two bays in each inner wing panel,
resulting in a 110" span. This lowers the wing loading and will be ideal
for an electric motor powered glider.
Use the same suggested AXI motor set up as the Big Bird noted above.

Ray,

Thanks to Mike Cramer, here is a picture of Bill May and me at the 2009 Nats with an extended wing Big Bird. Bill placed 6 out of 15. The plane performed very well against all the CF wonders. Note the modified fuselage built from a crutch construction. this narrows the cross section and I think signifcantly improved the performance. Much harder to build and the equipment gets shoehorned in but the end resullt was worth the effort.

The nose hatch goes on after we connect the batttery.

Tony Stamp

Ray,
Sending a picture of 2 Big Birds that Bill May and I completed today. Hope
to fly one tomorrow, weather permitting. So far I have built 3 little Birds
and 3 Big birds one of which is still in a Muncie cornfield. They fly great
and the kits are well done..
Tony Stamp
Dunlap, TN

Big Bird Electric, Ken Troxell March 28, 2003

i am running a trinity chamleon 19t pro car motor with a 4.4:1 planetary
gear box,14x8.5 prop,jeti 35 amp controller,and a 1700 7-cell pack.
climbs to winch height in 30- 35 seconds at 60 degree angle. if i did
another i would use a jeti 30/3 brushless, 8 cells ,and a 12x6 prop.
ken

Hello Ray,

I spoke to you at the contest at the AMA site about the end of May. You
took me to a Big Bird to
show me how to make hooks at the wing roots to use rubber bands to secure
the wings.
I used that idea and attached is my first kit-built sailplane. (not my
first kit) :-) .
That contest was the first time I had seen a sailplane meet and winches in
action.

I finished my Big Bird last week.
I put the maiden flight on my Bird Saturday, July 1st. WOW is all I can
say!
We are not a sailplane club........but I handed the transmitter to a very
experienced aerobatic pilot
who also was an avid sailplane guy for a while. His judgment is better than
mine because he
has competed and flown all types. His reaction was the same as
mine.....WOW!!

You have one wonderfully l designed sailplane in this XL Big Bird. (As I am
sure all the Bird
sizes are).

I know your plans showed a geared can motor.......
If anyone needs some info for an AXI you can save my email and refer them to
me.
I have some build photos I can send them, etc. OR ??

With an AXI 2820/10, 13X6.5 folding prop, and a 7 cell 2000 mAh battery,
the RTF weight came
in at 58 or 59 oz. I figured the wing loading to be about 9.5 oz. sq. ft.
I have Li Po's coming and with a 2 cell and same prop, (a little less
power), this thing should come
out to about 7.8 oz sq. foot wing loading!!!
I have PLENTY of power to climb with 59 oz...........so I am thinking the 2
cell LI PO will still do a
good job. Moto Calc program says so too.

Again......... thanks for your help and being so cordial at the meet,
especially since you were
the CD that day.

Yours Truly,
Bob Ruder
Indy.

This aircraft is just a dream to fly. I haven't flown it in too much
wind, about 10mph. It is just so graceful in the air.

I have used an Overlander T2836/8 motor, 1120Kv,
290 Watts, 8 winds and a 20Amp Esc with 3 cell lipo at 3000ma.

There is a video on Youtube. Go to jeffperkins100
and have a look at electric big bird.

I have also attached a couple of photos.

The black tape on the rear of the fuselage holds
a small metal bracket with a nut and bolt on it so you can add or
remove weight to make it tail or nose heavy.

Thanks for such a great kit.

Jeff Perkins

Hi Ray;

Its been months since I've talked to you. I hope you are well.

You'll find a photo attached showing 3 old birds and 3 gorgeous Big
Bird XLs. The red-winged bird in the middle had just flown its maiden
flight out of the SAGE field in Marana AZ.

From left to right; Mike Caffrey, Dirk Christie, and Ed Julia (photo
by Neal Obert) (FYI left is flapped, middle is plain wing and right
has spoilers.)

I showed up at the field about 2 years ago with a 100" electric Big
Bird. Ed Julia was impressed with how it could fly slow, and how well
it could penetrate so he built one, then Dirk followed. I think there
are a couple more guys who are on the verge of making Big Bird
purchases as well.

By mid-March, we'll go from a 'finding lift'
problem to a 'can barely see it' problem here in the Southern Arizona
desert. You've really got to check out our thermals sometime!

It's about time for me to start on another 2
meter Lil' Bird - I'll drop you an order soon. (My last one got too
high and I lost sight of it (mid-June)).

Mike Caffrey

Tucson, AZ 85750

Stiffnecker's Delight

Hi Ray,

1. ...this bird looks great from every angle (and what looks good generally
flies good as we all know) - and gave me two wonderful years of relaxed and
ultimatelly enjoyable flying so far. 30 minutes in no-lift conditions are
my standard duration. What I like the most about my Li'l Bird (2m) is the
fact that it is a very sensible thermal hunting machine. Your design struck
the right balance between sensitivity and stability! It centers well in a
thermal, gives clear lift indication, penetrates well on demand and reacts
to the smallest control inputs instead of plowing mercilessly through lift
and requiring "king-kong-like" rudder or elevator deflection like many
other RE(S)-machines.

To see that bird circling overhead and knowing that I put this ingeniously
crafted kit together all by myself gives me a unique and very enriching
feeling that simply cannot be beaten by an ARF product. Wood is sexy!
That´s why I sold my 12foot ARF glass glider after a few flights. I
cannot connect with ARF-kits. To me these products are not "bad-" they are
simply "no-karma-stuff".

2. Question: The dollar is a low as never before (no Schadenfreud involved
from my side) How much is S&H to Germany for the OLY III or the Sky Bird?

All the best for now.

Matthias Alfons Altmeier (Commander, German Navy)

My new Sky Bird

Hi Ray. Here are some photos of my new Sky Bird, along with its
little sister Big Bird XL. Both have electric power. The Big Bird
has been flying for a couple of years and loves to drift in the light
summer air. Flaps make spot landings much easier, and a tiny bit of
camber in the flaps improves thermalling when needed.

I completed the Sky Bird this past winter, also electric powered. The
fuselage was shortened 2 1/2 inches at the front end and the Neumotor
1506/1.5Y inrunner with a 5.2:1 gearbox and a 3 cell 2650 mAh lipo
coupled to a Castle Creations Phoenix Edge 75 Lite Speed Control
serves up 600 plus watts with a 16 X 6 Aeronaut CAM folding prop.
Total all up weight is 5.1 pounds resulting in about 120 watts/pound.
This promises excellent climbing for LMR type flying, yet the cubic
wing loading of 2.9 promises excellent thermalling flight
characteristics. It also has flaps. This new Sky Bird should be
airborne within days.

Love the SkyBench kits. Best wishes. Bill Jones, Kelowna, BC, Canada

Ron Folck's Electric OLY II

Hi Ray, Just finished my Oly ll electric. I got from you 5 months ago
and it has been around 10 below for about three weeks and just wanted
to tell you it was an easier kit to build for the first timer than I
thought. (you really have to follow directions close and plan ahead) I
have flying since the late 60s and just fly sailplanes, I have a brand
new pulsar pro 3.2 electric and haven't flown it yet but look forward
to flying them both for the first time.